13.1.91 (2015-2016)
'13.1.91', Exhibition View, 2016, Surrey Gallery, Guildford, 4 Ch Video, 4 Ch Sound, Looped
13.1.91 (2015/2016) is a multi-channel audiovisual sculpture, constructed using four 35” HD screens and a four-channel speaker setup. The installation utilises a rediscovered video archive of a political protest, which took place in the USSR, now independent Lithuania, in January 1991. Using analogue and digital video technology the artwork addresses a specific historical moment – a political conflict, during which thirteen individuals were killed and over a thousand citizens were injured. This protest became a significant political mark as it led the country towards its independence later that year. In addition, the event sparked further political unrest in the neighbouring USSR countries, including Belarus and Ukraine, which resulted in an overall dissolution of the Soviet Union. The January 1991 protest was closely documented by the National Radio and Television Broadcast as well as non-professional camera users, who used VHS camcorders to capture the event.
In 13.1.91 , I expose the bodies of the protesters as discovered in the immense video archive. The piece consists of a number of screens showcasing the enlarged and decelerated protesters’ faces accompanied by decelerated sound of the event – masses cheering and screaming. Using technology as the main tool for questioning, here, I offer a historiographic intervention, or, using sound and video, bring the forgotten bodies – the bodies that fought for freedom – from history into the present.
'13.1.91', Exhibition View, 2016, Surrey Gallery, Guildford, 4 Ch Video, 4 Ch Sound, Looped
'13.1.91', Exhibition View, 2016, Surrey Gallery, Guildford, 4 Ch Video, 4 Ch Sound, Looped
'13.1.91' (2016/2017), Exhibition View, Surrey Gallery, Guildford, 4 Ch Video, 4 Ch Sound, Looped
'13.1.91', Exhibition View, 2016, Surrey Gallery, Guildford, 4 Ch Video, 4 Ch Sound, Looped
'13.1.91', Exhibition View, 2017, CCA, Glasgow, 2017, 4 Ch Video, 4 Ch Sound, Looped
'13.1.91', Exhibition View, 2017, CCA, Glasgow, 2017, 4 Ch Video, 4 Ch Sound, Looped
